Musk’s DOGE Takes Purpose at California Excessive-Pace Rail and Something Else That Is not Nailed Down

As DOGE, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s “Division of Authorities Effectivity” will get underway, the 2 billionaires are on the lookout for federal packages and companies to chop, as they search to advance Musk’s espoused objective of trimming $2 trillion from the federal price range. Whereas critics have famous that this objective is—like a lot of Musk’s rhetoric—hyperbolic to the purpose of being unimaginable, that hasn’t stopped the duo from loudly proclaiming a rising checklist of targets, in an effort to encourage worry and make it seem like they’re doing one thing.

Considered one of their lately espoused targets is California’s long-suffering high-speed rail project. A federally funded effort that Musk has beforehand taken pictures at, the rail undertaking was initially accepted by voters throughout a poll initiative in 2008. Since then, billions of {dollars} have been spent and fewer than 1 / 4 of the proposed rail line has been constructed. The undertaking is partially funded by federal grants, although Trump—throughout his first time period—temporarily put an end to that. When Biden got here into workplace, he turned the funding spigot back on. Now, presumably, it is going to be turned off once more.

It’s beforehand been reported that Musk promoted the Hyperloop, a futuristic underground shuttle, with a purpose to trigger issues for California’s rail undertaking. Musk talked so much concerning the Hyperloop for years however by no means meant on constructing it. It was a technique of diversion that the automotive magnate reportedly hoped might make “the general public and legislators rethink” their funding within the prepare system. You understand, as a result of he’s within the enterprise of promoting automobiles. Final week, Ramaswamy equally took intention on the undertaking in a post on Musk’s platform, X, calling the rail “a wasteful vainness undertaking” that had wasted “billions in taxpayer money, with little prospect for completion within the subsequent decade.” He added: “President Trump appropriately rescinded ~$1BN in federal funds for this boondoggle in 2019, however Biden reversed that & doubled down. Time to finish the waste.”

Ramaswamy’s feedback got here not lengthy earlier than he and Musk descended on Capitol Hill to fulfill with lawmakers and focus on their upcoming plans. The 2 billionaires appeared in D.C. on Thursday for a closed-door session with Republicans, throughout which they reportedly discussed how DOGE would “revive the precept of restricted authorities.” Throughout that assembly, which concerned the brand new Senate Republican chief John Thune, potential targets for funding cuts had been mentioned, which apparently included necessary spending packages like Social Security and Medicare. Certainly, NBC experiences that Thune expressed to a journalist that “maybe necessary packages are areas that they’re seeking to make cuts in, like Social Safety, for instance.” The information comes after a concerted push by some Republican leaders to demonize these packages.

One other goal that Musk mentioned was federal subsidies for electrical autos. In what appears to have been a relatively brazen effort to push a coverage that will doubtlessly profit his personal EV firm Tesla, Musk reportedly told a journalist that he thought the federal government “ought to do away with all credit.” In July, Musk equally recommended putting off federal subsidies for EV corporations, posting on X: “Take away the subsidies. It is going to solely assist Tesla.” He added: “Additionally, take away subsidies from all industries!”

The entire cause that Musk is within the place that he’s at the moment in is that he used his immense wealth to assist get Trump elected, and new data additionally got here to mild Friday on simply how a lot cash Musk had spent in that regard. An evaluation of lately launched Federal Election Fee filings discovered that the tech magnate had spent over a quarter of a billion dollars—or roughly $277 million—in his effort to get Trump again within the White Home. The Washington Submit has famous that Musk in all probability spent greater than that, for the reason that “entirety of Musk’s donations this election cycle” might not “be mirrored in publicly out there paperwork.”

Whereas a lot of Musk’s monetary contributions went in the direction of America PAC, the political motion committee he created, he additionally donated a big quantity to lesser-known teams, together with a little-known PAC designed to persuade Individuals that Trump didn’t need to take away their abortion rights. That PAC, named “RBG” after Ruth Bader Ginsberg, obtained as a lot as $20 million from Musk, the New York Occasions has reported.

Musk has additionally made it identified that he plans to make use of a lot of the infrastructure that was constructed in the course of the marketing campaign to proceed pushing his political agenda in D.C. He has mentioned he needs to keep America PAC active, with plans to make use of it throughout, in addition to to probably use it to oust liberal district attorneys across the country. Musk additionally apparently plans to continue using X (formerly Twitter) to broadcast his and Trump’s agenda to the general public.